President Donald Trump turned a routine press gaggle into a circus Tuesday morning, unloading on ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl and even threatening him during a heated exchange over the administration’s controversial crackdown on so-called “hate speech.”
The fireworks went off as Trump paused on the South Lawn of the White House before boarding Marine One for a flight to London. The press pool peppered him with questions, but it was Karl who hit a nerve when he pressed Trump on Attorney General Pam Bondi’s vow to target “hate speech” in the wake of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s killing.
Bondi has drawn fire for suggesting federal prosecutors could pursue people who cheered Kirk’s assassination, a move critics call a dangerous assault on free expression.
JON KARL: What do you make of Pam Bondi saying she’s gonna go after hate speech? A lot of your allies say hate speech is free speech
TRUMP: We’ll probably go after people like you because you treat me so unfairly. You have a lot of hate in your hate. Maybe they’ll have to go… pic.twitter.com/i2KStu6Vsg
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 16, 2025
Karl asked whether it was appropriate for the government to go after people for “hate speech,” noting that even many Trump allies insist that hateful words, however ugly, are still constitutionally protected.
Trump snapped back instantly.
“She’d probably go after people like you!” Trump barked, pointing a finger at Karl. “Because you treat me so unfairly! It’s hate! You have a lot of hate in your heart!”
When Karl calmly asked if that would be appropriate, Trump upped the ante, threatening ABC itself. “Maybe they’ll come after ABC. Well, ABC paid me 16 million dollars recently for a form of hate speech, right? Your company paid me 16 million for a form of hate speech, so maybe they’ll have to go after you.”
The president was referring to a settlement earlier this year involving ABC, though legal experts say it had nothing to do with “hate speech.” Still, Trump seized on it to taunt Karl in front of the press corps.
Construction is underway on @realDonaldTrump’s massive new White House ballroom pic.twitter.com/CgfMPU8pGa
— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) September 16, 2025
Having delivered the threat, Trump drifted into one of his trademark digressions. He declared Washington, D.C. “the safest city in America,” boasting that he had personally “fixed” it.
“The mayor was fine. The mayor was just fine, okay?” Trump rambled. “The mayor had the sick city for many years. She’s been mayor for many years. The one that fixed it was me and my people, and it is so safe. You should take your beautiful wife tonight and have dinner down there. You won’t be shot, you won’t get accosted, you won’t even be looked at incorrectly by anybody.”
From there, Trump announced he was headed to Memphis, calling it “pretty rough, to put it mildly,” and launched into a long-winded tangent about a “big railroader” friend and Chicago crime. Reporters shuffled uncomfortably as the president spoke for several more minutes before boarding Marine One.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: “A person is 4x more likely to be murdered in Memphis, Tennessee today than in Mexico City… We’re not going to allow this savagery to destroy our society anymore.” pic.twitter.com/ifiWjzoeJY
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) September 15, 2025
The clash with Karl instantly set social media ablaze, with critics accusing Trump of threatening a journalist for asking a straightforward question. Press freedom advocates warned that Bondi’s plan and Trump’s rhetoric combined could chill free speech in unprecedented ways.
Trump supporters, however, applauded his fiery pushback against what they see as relentless media bias.
For Karl, the episode was just another day on the beat, but one that goes to show how volatile Trump’s press interactions have become. What began as a question about policy ended with the president openly threatening one of the nation’s biggest news outlets.
